Millions of Sydney commuters ride free as gates turned off

Over 2.2 million Australians are set to ride free on train and metro services across Sydney as the government enacts a "fee-free" period following months of industrial action.

While the free travel does not extend to buses, ferries, or the light rail, people will be able to benefit from free trips across Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink, Airport Link, and Sydney Metro services.

Opal gates will remain permanently open or turned off from 12:01am Thursday, 31 July to 6am on Saturday, 2 August.

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Opal Card fare increase

This means there will be no limit on the number of trips people can take and people will not need to tap their Opal cards at any point of their trip.

Minister for Transport John Graham urges people to make the most of the free travel.

"The gates will be open on Thursday and Friday, and we are inviting people to get out and about on the rail system wherever they are, including a free trip home if they happen to get a train after midnight on Friday," he said.

The fare-free travel period is an acknowledgement of the disruptions that occurred after months of industrial action.

The 48 hours of free travel have been deliberately scheduled for after the school holidays to maximise the number of people who can utilise the free travel.

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